MLB

Near the end of spring training last year, the opinion among then-New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi and his coaches was unanimous. According to GM Brian Cashman, Girardi and his staff believed 20-year-old super-prospect Gleyber Torres (now 21) should start the season as the replacement for injured shortstop Didi Gregorius. But Cashman disagreed. Cashman used

Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa is used to coming through in the clutch. Thursday night, he came up big again, calmly draining a free throw before the Houston Rockets‘ home game against the Golden State Warriors to win $5,000 for charity. Afterward, Correa told reporters he didn’t feel any pressure, because he “just came from

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired left-handed reliever Scott Alexander from Kansas City in a three-team trade that also included the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox got veteran relievers Luis Avilan and Joakim Soria and cash. The Dodgers also obtained minor league infielder Jake Peter, and the Royals

LOS ANGELES — Former All-Star Mark Prior has joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as their bullpen coach. Prior spent the past four years with the Padres, first as a baseball operations assistant and then as their minor league pitching coordinator. Prior was drafted by the Cubs out of USC in 2001. Plagued by injuries, he

For decades, the position of shortstop was treated by a lot of teams as a spot for which the clear preference was for defense. The lords of those times, the managers, willingly sacrificed production at the plate for consistent glove work from a player who often handled the baseball in pursuit of outs. Earl Weaver

The Houston Astros have received an invitation to visit the White House to be honored as reigning World Series champions, and a team spokesman says they plan to attend. “As the representatives of baseball and the World Series champs, when the White House calls and invites you to come up, it’s something that as an

CHICAGO — A 20-year-old Cubs fan is suing team owners to force them to provide better wheelchair access at Wrigley Field. The Chicago Tribune reports the lawsuit was filed last month in federal court on behalf of David F. Cerda. His lawyer is his father, David A. Cerda. The lawsuit says the owners are violating

The amateur draft might be the last safe haven of the starting pitcher, the last area of the game where they possess pre-eminence over relief pitchers. When given a choice, teams will almost always prefer the starting pitcher, a small reminder of those times — not long ago — when bullpen guys were mostly viewed

Derek Jeter, the new CEO and partial owner of the Miami Marlins, sees the franchise becoming profitable this season, according to documents obtained by the Miami Herald. In what is called Project Wolverine, a nod to Jeter’s native Michigan, the Marlins executive attempted to prove to potential investors that the franchise will turn a major

The 2017 World Series was graced by a left-hander who ranks among the greatest pitchers of all time, a right-hander who is likely to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and another left-hander who recently won a Cy Young Award. But despite those résumés and the past successes of others, the starting pitchers accounted